Caro Newling appointed Society of London Theatre president

Caro Newling, co-founder of independent production company Neal Street Productions, has been named as the Society of London Theatre’s new president.

She replaces Mark Rubinstein, who has led the trade organisation for the last three years.

Through Neal Street, which was formed in 2003 with Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris, Newling is currently producing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the West End and is behind the forthcoming UK tour of Shrek the Musical.

With Mendes, Newling also ran the Donmar Warehouse between 1992 and 2002. This year, she was number 18 in The Stage 100 list, alongside Mendes.

Newling, who becomes the organisation’s 31st president and the fourth woman to hold the post in its history, described SOLT as a “fast developing entity” which unites producers and theatres from both the commercial and subsidised sectors.

“It’s a huge privilege to be stepping up at this point. There are certainly challenges ahead, but I’m equally looking forward to celebrating the phenomenal achievements of our creative industry,” she said.

Julian Bird, SOLT chief executive, described Newling as having an “enormous wealth of experience in both commercial and not-for-profit theatre, and in both productions and venue management”.

“She is incredibly well placed to help SOLT and its members with the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead over the next few years, not least in funding, training and international ventures, and we welcome her warmly as our new president,” he said.

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Matt is news editor for The Stage, having started as the newspaper’s broadcast reporter. He covers all areas of the industry in his role, but has a particular interest in musical theatre. Matt studied acting at Bretton Hall and presents a monthly theatre news round up on BBC London Radio.